Abstract

Sexuality is a domain in which gender stereotypes thrive. A cultural standard for the sexual experience and expression of women and men prescribes different gender roles in sexuality. Women�s sexual role is submissive and tender, men�s assertive and dominant. These sexual roles reflect the stereotypical view of women as more communal and men as more agentic. If gender stereotypes and sexual roles are activated by sexuality cues, this may have consequences for subsequent thought and behavior. Specifically, following reminders of sex, men�s and women�s self-perceptions may become more gender-stereotypical, and they may identify more strongly with their respective sexes. Moreover, research on prime-to-behavior effects has shown that priming affects a person�s momentary self-representation (the �active self�), which can lead to corresponding behavioral effects (e.g., Wheeler, DeMarree, & Petty, 2007). Thus, after sex-priming the prescriptive gender stereotypes of sexual submissiveness among women and sexual assertiveness among men may manifest themselves in participants� non-sexual social behavior. In four studies, sexuality was primed using visual (Study 1) and verbal (Study 2 through 4) material. Sex-priming led to a gender-based self-perception, i.e. women�s communal orientation was more pronounced relative to their agency, whereas for men the opposite was true (Study 1 and 4), heightened identification with one�s own gender (Study 2), and prompted greater submissiveness in women (Study 3 and 4) and greater assertiveness in men (Study 3). More specifically, in Study 3 changes in participants� signature size were unobtrusively measured after sex-priming to check for changes in assertiveness. Men�s signatures were larger following sex-priming whereas women�s were not. In Study 4 sex-primed women hesitated longer before interrupting an experimenter chatting on the telephone, thus revealing a more submissive approach to social interaction. In sum, these findings support the hypothesis that following sex-priming, self-perception and social behavior �tune in� to gender stereotypes. The potentially detrimental effects of casual �sex-priming� in everyday life on self-perceptions and mixed-sex social interactions are discussed.